04.1.5 Using Data Exchanges to Verify Eligibility

CWW exchanges data with federal and state databases as well as databases maintained by private agencies in order to verify information provided by applicants and participants. This CWW process is called data exchange, or DX, because it is a two-way flow of information in which a request is sent to another state or federal agency and the requested information is returned to CWW. Information exchanged through CWW DX includes:

4.1.5.1 Income and Eligibility Verification System Data Exchanges

IEVS is a system that collects and exchanges income and resource data electronically between CWW and state and federal agencies.

Discrepancies identified through the IEVS-related data exchanges must be reviewed by W-2 agency staff. (See 4.1.5.2)

4.1.5.1.1 Unemployment Insurance Benefits Data Exchange Process

Under the UIB data exchange process, UIB DX automatically enters UI information received from state UI databases during intake, review, person add, and program add driver flows. The UIB DX requests UI information for all W-2 Group members over age 14 as long as there is a valid SSN (Verification Code V, C, or W) on the CWW Household Members page. If the DX returns UI income information, CWW automatically updates the Unearned Income Gatepost and the Unearned Income pages.

CWW also completes the UIB DX via a monthly batch process on the 2nd Saturday of the month and will automatically update the UI income for individuals who have had changes in their UI benefits. The monthly process also automatically end-dates UI benefits if no UI extension has been granted. Whenever UI income is updated via the monthly batch process, CWW enters a system-generated case comment.

There are limited situations in which CWW cannot automatically update the UI income information. In these situations, a discrepancy occurs. The FEP must resolve the discrepancy before running eligibility and confirming W-2. (See 4.1.5.2)

4.1.5.1.2 State Wage Information Collection Agency Process

The quarterly SWICA DX compares wage and income information provided by Wisconsin employers with information entered on the CWW Earned Income page. A discrepancy occurs if the monthly SWICA income plus other income budgeted for that month exceeds 115% of FPL for two consecutive months in a quarter. The FEP must update the earned income information on the Employment Queries page necessary to complete case processing before running eligibility and confirming W-2. (See 4.1.5.2)

Because SWICA matches may not happen until participants have been open for several months, FEPs should use the CWW Employment Queries page when processing intakes, reviews, program adds, and person adds to determine if applicants and participants are correctly reporting income and employment.

4.1.5.1.3 State Online Query Internet Process

The SOLQ-I DX is a web service that is initiated during intake, review, person add, and program add driver flows from the CWW General Case Information page. The SOLQ-I DX requests SSN, SS income, and SSI income information from the Social Security Administration. The SOLQ-I requests information for all W-2 Group members who have a valid SSN (Verification Code V, C, or W) on the CWW Household Members page. If an individual’s SSN is verified and Social Security income or SSI income exists, CWW automatically updates the information on the CWW pages before the FEP gets to the page in the driver flow, unless there is a discrepancy.

Similar to the UIB data exchange process, if the SOLQ-I data exchange cannot update the SSN, Social Security, or SSI information, a discrepancy occurs. The FEP must resolve the discrepancy before running eligibility and confirming W-2. (See 4.1.5.2) If there is a discrepancy, the Benefits Received page displays a message notifying the FEP that SOLQ-I was either successful or unavailable.

4.1.5.2 Discrepancies and Alerts

Federal law requires FEPs to follow-up on all IEVS DX discrepancies identified during the DX process. FEPs must take action on IEVS DX discrepancies within 45 days for 80 percent of all discrepancies, including taking action to correct the case. The remaining 20 percent may exceed 45 days only if Third-Party Verification is outstanding. The FEP must take action on the remaining 20 percent no later than 90 days after the discrepancy was identified.

FEPs must take the following steps to process DX matches and follow-up on discrepancies:

1. Identify discrepancies. Once a discrepancy is set on a case, it displays in the information bar at the top of the page in CWW (next to Action Items and Documents).

The primary worker on the case will also see the discrepancy under the My Tasks section of the worker’s CARES Worker Web Home page. Because in mixed cases, CWW considers IM workers the primary workers and FEPs secondary workers, FEPs cannot see their discrepancies on their CARES Worker Web Home pages. CWW notifies secondary workers of discrepancies by sending an alert. FEPs can then see their discrepancies by:

b. Searching for discrepancies using the Caseload Management Search Criteria page; or

2. Review the information returned via the DX and compare it to information entered in CWW.

3. Contact the participant or a third-party source to resolve the discrepancy and request verification, if necessary. The FEP must use the best available information to complete the data exchange process. The discrepancy must be resolved through the FEP’s action within 45 days of the match date, unless third-party collateral evidence is outstanding.

4. Update the appropriate CWW pages with the new information received. If the income was from employment, the FEP must also review and, if needed, update employment information on the WWP Work History page. The FEP may also need to re-evaluate the individual’s W-2 placement based on newly verified employment information.

5. Run eligibility and confirm W-2 benefits. If possible, FEPs must resolve discrepancies before running eligibility and confirming benefits. Re-running eligibility may result in a case closure. If this is the case, the FEP must also determine if an overpayment occurred and, if it has, calculate the amount and establish a benefit recovery claim.

6. Update the status of the discrepancy. If the FEP is the secondary worker, the FEP must provide a written update to the discrepancy in case comments. If the FEP is the primary worker, the primary worker updates the status of the discrepancy by choosing one of the drop-down options.

Important Note: The secondary worker must not update the status of the discrepancy. If the secondary worker updates the status of the discrepancy, CWW will remove it from the information bar and from the primary worker’s My Task discrepancy count total. If this occurs, the primary worker may not ever know that the discrepancy existed. However, if the primary worker updates the status of the discrepancy before the secondary worker has an opportunity to follow-up on it, the alert will remain for the secondary worker as a reminder. For that reason, in cases with both a primary and a secondary worker, the secondary worker must provide updates to discrepancies in case comments.

The FEP should not verify information that has already been verified. (See 4.1.2) Information such as identity, SSN, birth date, or citizenship, must be verified only once per lifetime. (See 4.1.4) However, the FEP must verify employment and income at every eligibility review and when DX reports new information that changes frequently, such as earned and unearned income.

4.1.5.3 Data Exchange Monitoring Reports

In addition to the Caseload Management Search Criteria page, FEPs can access the DX reports in WebI to view listings of all individuals who have outstanding data match discrepancies, and to monitor their progress in meeting the 45 and 90-day IEVS requirements for completing discrepancy reviews.

The following reports are in the Data Exchange folder in WebI Employment Programs, Report Monitoring subfolder.

DX Reports 1 and 2
Data exchange Report 1 provides a county summary. Report 2 provides a detailed report by county of all matches with incomplete dispositions/discrepancies due for 45 days or more.

DX Reports 3 and 4
Data exchange Report 3 provides a county summary. Report 4 provides a detailed report by county of the overdue dispositions/discrepancies completed during a specific month.

DX Reports 5 and 6
Data exchange Report 5 provides a W-2 agency summary. Report 6 provides a detailed report by agency of all matches that are due within 45 days and incomplete dispositions/discrepancies.

DX Report 7
Data exchange Report 7 provides a Worker ID summary and gives W-2 agency staff another tool to use to manage their dispositions/discrepancies.